Hossein Ensan Wins the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000

6 min read
Hossein Ensan Wins the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000

His railbirds' shirts, black with conjoining colors of German and Iranian flags, called Hossein Ensan a "sure bet."

For most of the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event final table, he looked like just that. Ensan entered with a massive lead and only strengthened his grip on things over the course of the first two days, toting 63 percent of the chips into three-handed play.

"It is the best feeling I have in all my life."

It took him about nine hours and things got a little rocky at times, but Ensan closed the deal. He eliminated both Alex Livingston and then Dario Sammartino across a little under 200 hands of play, securing the historic bracelet for the 50th running of the WSOP, as well as $10 million and poker immortality as the next world champion.

He called the moment, the culmination of getting through a field of 8,569, "unbelievable."

"It is the best feeling I have in all my life," he said, grinning the smile that seems eternally etched on his features.

2019 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (USD)
1Hossein EnsanGermany$10,000,000
2Dario SammartinoItaly$6,000,000
3Alex LivingstonCanada$4,000,000
4Garry GatesUnited States$3,000,000
5Kevin MaahsUnited States$2,200,000
6Zhen CaiUnited States$1,850,000
7Nick MarchingtonUnited Kingdom$1,525,000
8Timothy SuUnited States$1,250,000
9Milos SkrbicSerbia$1,000,000

Ensan said his plan for the tournament was just to bag up every day and get to the money. When he got a big stack starting on Day 4, he began to dream bigger and the cards kept cooperating.

Still, despite Ensan's stack and credentials that included numerous excellent results, including a European Poker Tour title and over $2.6 million in tournament cashes, many observers tabbed Sammartino as the man to beat at the final table.

Ensan had a chance to make short work of him and take an overwhelming lead against Livingston as the two Europeans flipped for Sammartino's stack early on the final day. The board ran out a straight for the Italian and it was game on with everyone having a very playable stack over 50 big blinds.

In what would be a theme throughout the final table, the railbirds for Sammartino went absolutely bananas. Fans of each player seemed determined to outdo the others, chanting louder and stomping harder, creating a raucous atmosphere that never really slowed down.

The slide continued for Ensan as he ceded the lead to Livingston for one hand before Sammartino doubled through the Canadian, turning two pair against pocket kings.

Sammartino and Ensan then traded the lead for a bit before Ensan woke up with ace-queen against Livingston, who shoved with ace-jack on the button.

Alex Livingston
Alex Livingston watches the last of hopes die in the Main Event

Sammartino grabbed an early lead heads up when he hit a three-outer after calling a check-raise on the turn then got big value on a river bet with aces up against jacks up.

No longer did Ensan seem a sure bet. The Italian, widely considered the best player at the final table and certainly the most accomplished with millions in cashes against no-limit hold'em's most elite, had the chips and the chops. It seemed his title to lose.

"short-handed you need cards. You need hands and for sure luck. Luck and hands [were] on my side."

His rail knew it too, as the chants only grew in force, drowning out Ensan's rail's responses.

"He's a super Dario! He's a super Dario! He's a super Dario!"

Ensan turned things around, though. Over the course of the next roughly 100 hands, he methodically reduced Sammartino to about 40 big blinds and a 2-to-1 deficit. Sammartino tried slowing the slide by limping some buttons, but the big pots all seemed to go Ensan's way.

"He's a big name and he's a very good player," Ensan said. "But, short-handed you need cards. You need hands and for sure luck. Luck and hands [were] on my side."

Finally, things ended in a hand eerily similar to Sammartino's double against Livingston. The Italian again check-raised all in on the turn and again was up against two kings. This time, however, he only had a combo draw and needed to improve on the river. A brick river fell and Sammartino had to console himself with $6 million and another close call in a marquee bracelet event �� he previously finished third in the $100K High Roller for One Drop in 2017.

Dario Sammartino
Sammartino fell just short of being world champion

Ensan, meanwhile, drank it in. He raised the bejeweled bracelet to the heavens, kissed it, and spread his arms to soak in the adulation of his supporters. He said he'd have to go to sleep and wake up to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"I am so happy I am here with bracelet in hand. What can I say?"

"I am so happy I am here with bracelet in hand," he said. "What can I say?"

While he may not have had much to say, his railbirds somehow still had voice.

"Ensan! Ensan! Hosseiiiin Ensan!"

This time, the chants rang alone in the quickly emptying Amazon Room as media filtered out to write their final words and production crews broke down the set. Nobody could respond. Ensan had all of the chips and the $10 million, and the next banner to drop from the ceiling at the WSOP will bear his face.

2019 WSOP Main Event Final Table Infographic

2019 WSOP Main Event final table course infographic (y-axis: chip count, x-axis: hands on final table)
2019 WSOP Main Event final table course (y-axis: chip count, x-axis: hands on final table)

2019 WSOP Main Event Final Hand and Celebration Photo Gallery

Photography by Joe Giron, Antonio Abrego, and Jamie Thomson.

Dario Sammartino Hossein Ensan Dario Sammartino Hossein Ensan & Dario Sammartino World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan World Champion Hossein Ensan Hossein Ensan Dario Sammartino Dario Sammartino Hossein Ensan Dario Sammartino Hossein Ensan Hossein Ensan Hossein Ensan

WSOP Main Event History

YearEntriesChampionCountry Winning HandPrize
19707Johnny MossUnited States --
19716Johnny MossUnited States -$30,000
19728Thomas "Amarillo Slim" PrestonUnited States K?J?$80,000
197313Walter "Puggy" PearsonUnited States A?7?$130,000
197416Johnny MossUnited States 3?3?$160,000
197521Brian "Sailor" RobertsUnited States J?J?$210,000
197622Doyle BrunsonUnited States 10?2?$220,000
197734Doyle BrunsonUnited States 10?2?$340,000
197842Bobby BaldwinUnited States Q?Q?$210,000
197954Hal FowlerUnited States 7?6?$270,000
198073Stu UngarUnited States 5?4?$385,000
198175Stu UngarUnited States A?Q?$375,000
1982104Jack StrausUnited States A?10?$520,000
1983108Tom McEvoyUnited States Q?Q?$540,000
1984132Jack KellerUnited States 10?10?$660,000
1985140Bill SmithUnited States 3?3?$700,000
1986141Berry JohnstonUnited States A?10?$570,000
1987152Johnny ChanUnited States(born in China)A?9?$625,000
1988167Johnny ChanUnited States(born in China)J?9?$700,000
1989178Phil HellmuthUnited States 9?9?$755,000
1990194Mansour MatloubiIran 6?6?$895,000
1991215Brad DaughertyUnited States K?J?$1,000,000
1992201Hamid DastmalchiIran 8?4?$1,000,000
1993220Jim BechtelUnited States J?6?$1,000,000
1994268Russ HamiltonUnited States K?8?$1,000,000
1995273Dan HarringtonUnited States 9?8?$1,000,000
1996295Huck SeedUnited States 9?8?$1,000,000
1997312Stu UngarUnited States A?4?$1,000,000
1998350Scotty NguyenUnited States(born in Vietnam)J?9?$1,000,000
1999393Noel FurlongIreland 5?5?$1,000,000
2000512Chris FergusonUnited States A?9?$1,500,000
2001613Carlos MortensenSpain(born in Ecuador)K?Q?$1,500,000
2002631Robert VarkonyiUnited States Q?10?$2,000,000
2003839Chris MoneymakerUnited States 5?4?$2,500,000
20042,576Greg RaymerUnited States 8?8?$5,000,000
20055,619Joe HachemAustralia 7?3?$7,500,000
20068,773Jamie GoldUnited States Q?9?$12,000,000
20076,358Jerry YangUnited States(born in Laos)8?8?$8,250,000
20086,844Peter EastgateDenmark A?5?$9,152,416
20096,494Joe CadaUnited States 9?9?$8,547,042
20107,319Jonathan DuhamelCanada A?J?$8,944,310
20116,865Pius HeinzGermany A?K?$8,715,638
20126,598Greg MersonUnited States K?5?$8,531,853
20136,352Ryan RiessUnited States A?K?$8,361,570
20146,683Martin JacobsonSweden 10?10?$10,000,000
20156,420Joe McKeehenUnited States A?10?$7,683,346
20166,737Qui NguyenUnited States(born in Vietnam)K?10?$8,005,310
20177,221Scott BlumsteinUnited States A?2?$8,150,000
20187,874John CynnUnited States K?J?$8,800,000
20198,569Hossein EnsanGermany K?K?$10,000,000

Closing the 2019 World Series of Poker
With Hossein Ensan's win in the Main Event, the 2019 World Series of Poker has wrapped up. Eighty-nine different bracelet winners were crowned, with Robert Campbell winning two events from the 90-event schedule.

The World Series of Poker Europe is next with eleven events scheduled between October 13 and November 4.

You can reread the live updates from all ninety different events in the PokerNews WSOP Live Reporting section. All the Main Event live updates leading to Ensan's win can be found here.

There's much more in store when it comes to poker. Check out the Upcoming section of the PokerNews Live Reporting hub for more details. The HPT at Golden Gates Casino is next before PokerNews flies to Sydney for the 2019 The Star Sydney Champs. We'll also have teams in Sochi for the 888poker LIVE and in Malta for the Unibet Open Malta.

Main Event recaps sponsored by Global Poker.

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